Imperial College London
Portrait Picture

Dr Roberto Rinaldi FRSC

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering

Reader in Applied Chemistry
 
 
 
//

Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 1302r.rinaldi1 Website

 
 
//

Location

 

523ACE ExtensionSouth Kensington Campus

//

Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Ferrini:2017:10.1039/c7fd00069c,
author = {Ferrini, P and Chesi, C and Parkin, N and Rinaldi, R},
doi = {10.1039/c7fd00069c},
journal = {Faraday Discussions},
pages = {403--413},
title = {Effect of methanol in controlling defunctionalization of the propyl side chain of phenolics from catalytic upstream biorefining},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c7fd00069c},
volume = {202},
year = {2017}
}
Download

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - In recent years, lignin valorization has gained upward momentum owing to advances in both plant bioengineering and catalytic processing of lignin. In this new horizon, catalysis is now applied to the ‘pulping process’ itself, creating efficient methods for lignocellulose fractionation or deconstruction (here referred to as Catalytic Upstream Biorefining or ‘CUB’). These processes render, together with delignified pulps, lignin streams of low molecular weight (Mw) and low molecular diversity. Recently, we introduced a CUB process based on Early-stage Catalytic Conversion of Lignin (ECCL) through H-transfer reactions catalyzed by RANEY® Ni. This approach renders a lignin stream obtained as a viscous oil, comprising up to 60 wt% monophenolic compounds (Mw < 250 Da). The remaining oil fraction (40 wt%) is mainly composed of lignin oligomers, and as minor products, holocellulose-derived polyols and lignin-derived species of high Mw (0.25–2 kDa). Simultaneously, the process yields a holocellulose pulp with a low content of residual lignin (<5 wt%). Despite the efficiency of aqueous solutions of 2-propanol as a solvent for lignin fragments and an H-donor, there is scant information regarding the CUB process carried out in the presence of primary alcohols, which often inhibit the catalytic activity of RANEY® Ni, as revealed in model compound studies performed at low temperature. Considering the composition of the lignin oils obtained from CUB based on ECCL, the processes commonly render ortho-(di)methoxy-4-propylphenol derivatives with a varied degree of defunctionalization of the propyl side chain. In this contribution, we present the role of the alcohol solvent (methanol or 2-propanol) and Ni catalyst (Ni/C or RANEY® Ni) in control over selectivity of phenolic products. The current results indicate that solvent effects on the catalytic processes could hold the key for improving control over the degree of functionalization of
AU  - Ferrini,P
AU  - Chesi,C
AU  - Parkin,N
AU  - Rinaldi,R
DO  - 10.1039/c7fd00069c
EP  - 413
PY  - 2017///
SN  - 1359-6640
SP  - 403
TI  - Effect of methanol in controlling defunctionalization of the propyl side chain of phenolics from catalytic upstream biorefining
T2  - Faraday Discussions
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c7fd00069c
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/57151
VL  - 202
ER  -
Download